Iron Mischief
by ConfessionsofaRebel
Summary: Fem!Tony: No one knows who Iron Man is and Natasha Stark has continued to remain an enigma to the rest of the Avengers. But when handling mischief on her own, she finds herself in more than a few compromising situations.
1. Chapter 1: Viridian

**It's the Loki/Fem!Tony fic I promised! Same general rules from my other two fics, primarily from ATP. I suggest you go read that before anything. In summary, Natasha Stark is the female Tony Stark. No one knows the Iron Man's true identity, not even the Avengers. Only Pepper, Rhodey, Fury and Coulson know of it.**

"I blame you." Iron Man sighed as she looked up at the rubble and debris that sat above her and company. The communication in her HUD were down and the few things that were actually functioning included her arc reactor and the vital signs her HUD showed. Otherwise the suit was useless. She sat herself on the ground, her arms leaned on her knees as she assessed the rest of her environment. They seemed to be under the rubble of an otherwise demolished building. Her gaze fell upon her company as he responded.

Natasha Stark had never expected to be in such a situation.

"Had you not attacked me, this could have been prevented." Loki muttered as he continued to glare at the metal armor. Loki sat on the ground aswell. His own armor had been sprinkled with dust and dirt to a point. There was a small cut on the top right of his forehead. "I've been released by Odin under the regulations that my magic be removed and that Thor be watching over my actions. I wasn't doing anything wrong." He sneered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, yeah. I admit, that bit is my fault. Point Break failed to mention any of that and," she paused, turning back to him. "knowing you, you've hidden a bit of you magic for safe keeping." Loki paused, smirking at the hero's correct assumption. "Indeed, however I save it for healing purposes." Another pause, it was silent in the rubbled cave aside from the occasional movement of Iron Man or himself. "I suppose your _team_ should be coming soon enough to the rescue." It was casual conversation, that much she could tell. "How long have we been in this rat hole?" She questioned aloud.

"I suppose 3 hours. But I can't be sure. It hasn't been the center of my focus." She replied dryly. The two remained silent momentarily, letting it dawn on both of them the severity of the situation. "How does one such as yourself become allies with Fury and his fife?" Natasha turned abruptly, unsure if he had asked the question. "It's mere curiosity. I've researched into your tiny Midgardian ways. You have close ties to a mortal of great intelligence and you have great power at your disposal. Why not lead your own army?"

"Because as egotistical as I may be, I'm not power crazy. I knew people like that. They were some of the worst people…" Her sentence faded as she realized who she was referencing. The first she was referencing was Obadiah. Had he been a stranger bent on controlling the company, she wouldn't have taken the attack as personally as she had. But the idea that her makeshift father designated a hit on her just to obtain a company meant a whole different story entirely. It meant that growing up, she really had no one behind her.

Loki paused, giving thought into the response she gave.

"Being a defender takes a lot, I must say. A lack of self-preservation, if you would. That and or not a lot to risk. It's rather fascinating." Loki pressed his lips firmly together, waiting for a response eagerly. He could hear the Iron Man sigh audibly from within the suit. "Before I-… myself and Miss Stark were recruited as consultants for the Avengers, they regarded us as selfish, volatile and that we didn't play well with others." Natasha pasued momentarily observing the slight pain in her shoulder. She passed it off. Loki noticed it though as she continued. "I don't really blame them. I tend to be reckless, if this situation wasn't enough to convince you . Hell, I offered you a drink the first time I met you during the invasion. If that isn't reckless I'm not really sure what is."

Loki frowned, having to backtrack to the Chitauri invasion. "You're mistaken. It was Natasha Stark that confronted me at the tower. She descended from a stairway, offering the drink…" Loki observed the suit for a response, noting that Iron Man was constantly fidgeting with her shoulder. She remained silent, fully regretting the slip up she had. "You don't use magic here but the technology is something to wonder about. At least the technology at your disposal is." She raised an eyebrow from beneath the helmet. He was trying to make small talk. "Would you like to know a little about it?"

Natasha shifted, moving to her knees as Loki scooted over to her side. Not too far and not too close. Natasha felt a sharp pain through her arm so she opted to write in the dirt with her left hand. "Thor likes to tell stories about Jane." She paused, taking in Loki's expression. It was unreadable at that moment. "He told us how he explained to her the way the realms worked. The astronomy of our world is probably different, right?" Loki stared at her as if trying ot see through her helmet into her eyes. Even in the dimly lit cave, she could see how green his eyes were. The light from his newly acquired scepter (that was only powered by magic) and her arc reactor created the only two lights in the area. "Right." He replied in almost a whisper as she began to draw out the night sky as best as she could.

"She's not at the tower." Bruce said solemnly as he returned to the rest of the team. Steve frowned at the news as he did a headcount. Everyone was there except for Iron Man. "Miss Stark, come in, do you read me?" Steve said firmly into his com, only getting static in response. He sighed heavily. "Great. So we lost communication with Stark and Iron Man. Where does she usually keep watch from?" He asked the general group. Agent Romanoff replied. "She usually sits in the tower or the helicarrier, from what I'm told…" Steve frowned his signature grimace. He didn't like what was happening at all. "Let's back track for a second. When was the last time we saw Iron Man?" Clint Barton jumped into the conversation.

"He noticed the presence of my brother and must have presumed mischief was afoot." Thor explained, his gaze going over all of their expressions. "And then…" Steve paused, replaying what had happened. His eyes widened as he thought back. "Damn. The building collapsed and they're under the rubble. It's the only thing that makes sense." He started to glance around, looking for the area he last saw them. His eyes fell on what he presumed was the correct pile or rubble and concrete. "That building." He pointed over to his far left. "We need to get under that rubble. Loki and Iron Man are probably underneath. We don't know what condition they'll be in but we should have SHIELD medics on standby."

"Your arm is injured." Not a question. A statement. Over the course of two hours, she had covered astronomy and parts of history with Loki. She had even described a few pieces of written work, such as The Importance of Being Earnest and a few Shakespeare works. He was a quick learner and didn't need detailed explanations. "Good job Reindeer Games. You figured it out." Loki smirked, curiosity pulsing through him as he wanted to know more about the Iron Man. A mortal willing to challenge a god at wits made him all the more curious.

He began to slowly approach the suit, the cave in allowing for just enough room for him to stand and move. Natasha held a cautious gaze on him; prepared to fight if he pulled anything. Sitting next to her, he raised his hands onto the lower part of her armor, a low glow emitting from them. She felt a tingly sensation briefly before the gauntlet fell, leaving her hand and lower arm exposed. "Your shoulder or your upper arm?" He questioned, not explaining what he was doing. Natasha sat still, speculating every possible theory. "Shoulder…" She said softly. Loki repeated the process, the upper arm armor falling as easily as the gauntlet had. Loki had been looking over her arm when he first noticed.

"…Your arm is rather feminine. No offense, of course, it's just-"

"No, it's all right." Natasha, at that point, really just wanted a drink. A drink and to go to bed. "I understand, of course. To gain acceptance, you fight as a man. Acceptance isn't something easily obtained." His tone was dark as he placed his long fingers on her shoulder. "It's not something I have period." Her statement was blunt as Loki was a bit taken back by comment. "This may hurt somewhat…" Loki said softly, looking up at the mask. "Might I suggest taking off the helmet? Your drowsy responses are becoming more evident and frankly you'd receive more oxygen if you took it off." Natasha blinked, taking in his suggest and realizing he was correct. She was having a bit of trouble breathing. She was stuck in a cave with the god of mischief having a somewhat casual conversation.

She sighed before lifting her other hand to manually take off the HUD. A few minor clicks and the helmet loosened around her head, allowing her to slide it off. She took a deep breath as soon as he face interacted with the oxygen rushing to her. She set her gaze on Loki, his green eyes meeting her brown eyes for the first time in a long while. "You truly are a fascinating subject, Natasha Stark." Her face held a stern look, it didn't falter even in the presence of a god. "I still don't trust you." The adamant statement made him grin widely, his magic was coursing through her unnoticed as they continued the conversation. "But you have to hope I won't mention a word about this to you friends, no?" She swallowed hard, turning away and focusing on looking at the wall ahead of her. "I thought you didn't have magic."

His grin remained plastered on his face. "I have my ways of hiding it."

It took another hour for the team to reach them. By that time, Natasha had placed her helmet back on and had taken to falling asleep to pass the time. Loki had found himself falling asleep as well.

Natasha sat tiredly in her chair, waiting for Steve Rogers to finishing debriefing. "And Miss Stark, what happened to communication? We lost both you and Iron Man for hours." He glared at her from across the table. Natasha wasn't in the mood. "My communication with all of you is through Iron Man. If he goes down, I go down." She rolled her eyes as she really wanted to leave the area. Steve glared at the evident disrespect in her tone. "On another note…" Thor spoke up, standing from his seat. "It's been known, of course, but Loki will be staying here under my supervision, by the All-Father's order. I hope this won't inconvenience anyone…" Thor always had this sympathetic thing about him. Like you couldn't help but say yes to him. "I'm a bit shaky about it… but if it'll help him reform, I think it'll be okay. Stark, I'm putting you under strict orders though to stay away from him." He glanced quickly back at her, noting the raised brow she was giving him. She got up quickly, making way towards the door.

"Excuse me? I think I'm perfectly capable handling Loki. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my lab handling all the weapons you guys use." She paused before turning around once more. "And on another note, I don't take orders from you, Captain." She sneered before stepping out finally. Steve sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'm never going do anything right by her, am I?" He rubbed the back of his neck Bruce fiddled with his glasses. "She's been on her own. Having new people in a place where she used to be alone is still a bit new for her. She'll come around." He reassured the worried soldier. "I have an inquiry, friends. Pepper Potts said there was to be a gathering of sorts tonight?" He questioned; unsure of his information.

"It's a Halloween party. Sort of a press thing to show she's still the young socialite bachelorette she was before Iron Man and the Avengers became a thing." Natasha Romanoff replied with a stiff face. Neither Natasha nor Stark actually wanted to be at the party but Stark had to be and Romanoff felt bad that she would be off on her alone. "Out of curiosity, what is she going as?" Bruce grinned in amusement. If he knew his friend well enough, she'd be something outrageous. Romanoff returned the amused smile along with a small chuckle.

"A Playboy Bunny."

Pepper Potts stood to the side of the room along with Natasha Stark as the room began to fill with people of all sorts. Pepper was dressed as the ever lovely Marilyn Monroe, white dress with a blonde wig and all. Natasha stood next to her in a stark red Playboy Bunny outfit. The only alteration made was the top part was made to be a halter-esque look in order to cover her arc reactor. "How do I look?" Natasha asked with a smirk. Pepper turned slightly, looking at her up and down before returning a small grin. "Like the old you."

"Perfect." She smiled bitterly at her response. Pepper gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder before whispering. "The three people coming are a few investors that I want you to meet. Be charming." She nudged her side as Natasha rolled her eyes. "Because I'm everything but charming." She firmly stared at the group of three approaching her as she plastered one of her press worthy smiles. "Miss Stark, allow me to introduce you." Pepper stated with her professional tone. The first gestured towards a blonde young woman dressed as Red Riding Hood. "This is Marie Sedly. She works with the environmental unit of Harmon & Co." The second was a man with a pale complexion and mocha colored hair. He looked to be dressed like an MIB agent. "Martin Lawrence of the Public Service Division." The last introduction landed on another man who had a six foot tall figure and ginger hair. He wore a simple tux and a somewhat green bow-tie for what Natasha presumed was a James Bond costume. Natasha's eyes narrowed as she took in the figure.

"This is Algernon Fairfax. He's one of the younger CEOs running around here." Pepper Potts smiled as Natasha shook the hands of each of them. Before she could feign any interest, Martin and Marie began talking to Pepper about any future agreements they might share with one another. "Nice to see you're feeling better. Crimson really does suit you." He smiled as his fingers twirled a piece of her long hair. She looked up slightly to notice his bow tie was slightly crooked. She began to fix it.

"Viridian never looked better on anyone but you, Loki."

**This was really difficult to write. I hope you guys like it, I'm really iffy about it. Asdfghjkl. I have a plot idea, but your suggestions are welcome! **


	2. Chapter 2: Sense of Adventure

A few moments passed as the two grabbed champagne glasses from a waiter walking by. The two leaned against the wall as they shared conversation. "Explain to me this… ritual." Loki inquired as he referred to the assortment of people dressed up in various costumes. Natasha Stark took a sip. "All-Hallows Eve. Or Halloween. In today's time we dress up in various costumes to scare or just have fun. Costumes from films, tv shows, books, or even notable places."

Loki gave her glance, taking in her outfit. "And what exact origin does your attire have?" He smiled somewhat with eye brows raised. She returned the gesture. "Playboy bunny. I'll get you a magazine at some point." She smirked. The two stood in silence as they watched the crowd mingle with one another. Natasha couldn't hold her tongue any longer.

"Why?" She glanced upward at the mischief maker. A smile that could only belong to him grazed his face. "Hmm?" He questioned, not exactly knowing what her question was. "Why are you here?" He gave her a thoughtful look before responding. "It seems that the only source of enjoyment to be had in Midgard will have to come from you, Miss Stark."

"I can't argue with you on that one."

Without a word Natasha led him towards an empty table that had a decent view of the party. He sat in the chair next to her. His arm grazed her in their close proximity. "How is your arm?" He glanced, noticing that there wasn't a hint of bruising. "It wonderful. Hasn't felt this nice in a while. No cuts, no bruises. It's the best I've come out of a fight." She grinned lightly as she rolled her arm back. "So is your magic just coursing through me or did it go away once I healed up?" She pondered after a moment of thought.

"It'll linger for just a bit longer but after that it'll dissipate incredibly slow. Let's just say because it's my magic, we have a… _profound bond_, if you would. Almost like a thin string is attaching us." He answered promptly after taking a sip of his champagne. "This isn't very strong." A statement. She nodded in agreement. "I have the better stuff upstairs." She ignored his slighty weird explanation for magic. Natasha glanced around and found Pepper still speaking to the other investors. They met eyes briefly. "Who exactly is Pepper Potts?" Loki questioned, noting their exchanged glances.

"Well right now, she just gave me a presumptuous look." Natasha stated, causing Loki to frown. "What does she presume you're doing?" Natasha grinned slightly. "She's noticed how close we're sitting and thinks that either a) I'm flirting with you in order to get you to invest with us or b) that I'm drunk and maybe flirting with you for sex. She'd obviously prefer I do (a) as opposed to doing (b) because of the whole arc reactor thing." The ending of her explanation was in a somewhat hushed tone. Loki raised an eyebrow mischievously, a bemused grin curved on his face as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Are you positive you wouldn't want to go for (b)?"

Natasha grinned wide, not moving her head as she gracefully took a sip of the cup of water at the table. Her eyes shifted sideways. "It'd be more fun to let her think I did, wouldn't it?" He pursed his lips as she moved his head back to his normal position. "Pepper is the CEO to my company. I had a few… problems about a year ago where I asked her to take over for me. She's also one of my best friends."

"The Avengers being your other ones?"

She raised as eye brow while she scoffed. "Please. We're not exactly the closest." Her lips curved somewhat downward at the thought. "I don't know Thor at all so there's not much to say. After I heard about a man falling from the sky with a hammer, I decided to look into it. Some of the lore, which in this case may or may not be lore depending on how accurately people could document." She glanced at him, hoping for a response. "I'll have to confirm or deny a few things for you, I suppose. But continue."

"I'm not really the Captain's favorite person and frankly he's not exactly a bundle of roses either. There's not much you can do when you have the man who took your father's attention while you were growing up, just standing right in front of you." She grimaced before continuing.

"Bruce is one of my heroes. Meeting him was an honor but he tends to keep to himself. I respect that. He'll come down to my lab every so often but it's not really a best friend situation." She briefly remembered Loki's encounter with the Hulk and inwardly smirked. "Widow, you've met, I don't really trust her. She tried to scope my company under SHIELD's orders and I don't like that. She didn't find out about the whole suit thing but she could have. Hawkeye, well I haven't spoken to him much." She took another sip of water.

"Then who are your close confidantes?"

"Hmmm…" She thought to herself momentarily. "Pepper. We've been through a lot. Rhodey too. You haven't met him yet but I'm sure you'll come across him at some point. Jarvis. And Coulson." Her eyes went dark for a moment. Loki remained silent, knowing the name all too well. The music changed to a classical song. Loki stood up and offered his hand. Natasha took it, feeling Pepper's eyes on her once more. Loki held one hand as he placed his other on her back. "The suit makes you significantly taller." He mentioned with a teasing smile.

"Helps with the illusion." She remarked as she slowly let him lead. "Also, I should mention that in order to assimilate without being recognized, this will be my disguise of choice." He explained. Natasha furrowed her eyebrows. "I kind of assumed that…" She questioned. "What I mean is that Thor and I have spoken and we… agreed that we shouldn't make _my_ presence too known in your tower."

Natasha put it together. "Ah, you mean you move into the tower under a pseudo name. And Thor and I just don't mention that you're Loki. Because having you any where else would be problematic and having the team know you're there would cause high tensions."

"Precisely."

"If you're going to do that though, I suggest you change your name. It's a bit too literary." She suggested, thinking the name he used with Pepper was only meant to get her attention.

"I can't argue with you on that one."

* * *

"Who is this?" Steve Roger's stood at the counter in the kitchen, not understanding who the stranger in the living room was. The night had ended and the next day Natasha would be ready for questions. "My acquaintance. _Trusted_ acquaintance. See I put that part in there for you." Natasha remarked giving him an eye roll as she made herself coffee. She poured two cups, making them both to her liking. If Loki didn't like it he could always just tell her.

Steve sighed. "A name would be nice."

Loki stepped up to the counter extending his hand. "August Camden. I work with Miss Stark." Steve gave a polite smile. "Steve Rogers. It's nice to meet some of the people behind the tech." He grinned. Loki frowned. "Miss Stark does a majority of the work behind the Avengers though…" He slowly let go his hand as he replied. "Oh of course!" Steve replied nervously. "It's just, you know, it's nice to see more than one person and-"

"It's fine, Captain." She rolled her eyes once more as she handed Loki a cup of coffee. "And right now entering the room is Doctor Banner." She glanced behind Loki as Bruce stopped walking at the mention of his name. "Agents Barton and Romanoff are currently out right now and lastly, this is Thor." Thor walked in behind Banner and held a steady gaze that switched between Loki and Natasha herself. "Thor." She gave him a brief look before continuing. "Bruce, this is August Camden. An associate of mine who I will be working with. He'll be staying at the tower." Bruce nodded as he walked towards the kitchen to get something to eat. Thor followed behind, not giving a verbal response.

Thor stood on the far side of the kitchen as he motioned for Natasha to come near him. She tilted her head sideways as she walked over casually. "You seem to be disobeying the Captain's orders." He chuckled lightly after saying his statement quietly. Natasha grinned widely.

"Where's your sense of adventure, Thor?"

**AN: Oh look a chapter 2. A short one but a chapter. Woah now. One of the future chapters that I have in mind (that inspired this fic, mind you) I have found the perfect song to write that specific chapter to so I can't wait until we get there. Sadly, it's far off. If you want you can suggest scenarios you'd want to see in this fic down in the review thing, or you can just tell me what you thought. All that jazz. I was really tempted to go back and edit the first chapter and have not only fem!Tony but also male!Pepper but I decided against it. Maybe I'll write something with male!Pepper in the future but I don't know.**

**I'm also thinking about renaming this fic. Not sure.**

**Anyway, hope you have a lovely day.**

**-H.**


	3. Chapter 3: Not That Interesting

**AN: I'm going to bring up the Tesseract Theory. Which is the theory that Loki's eyes changed color when he was under the control of the Tesseract (blue) and then they changed back to his natural green after the Hulk smashing, the recalibration that Agent Romanoff mentions. In Thor Loki doesn't have one set eye color and his color changes a variety of colors to symbolize his mischief (I'm 99% sure about it, you can check me on that because I can't remember where I read that). In truth, the Tesseract theory has been proven false but in this AU I'd like to make it fact.**

* * *

"Hmmm." Natasha Stark looked out the window as she stared outside. Rain was falling and hitting against the glass. On ehand held her coffee as she pulled down her sweater. Natasha sipped her coffee. "What is it?" Loki questioned. They were the only two left in the commons area. "Like the night we met." As soon as she spoke those words, thunder rang in the distance. Loki looked outside with a distant look in his eyes. "I suppose so."

Natasha poured herself another cup and added her normal additions before ushering for Loki to follow her. "Where are we going?" Loki caught up behind her quickly. "Down to my lab. We're going to talk." Loki couldn't pinpoint a hint of humor in her tone; he wondered what she could possibly want to talk about. He frowned.

What _wouldn't_ she want to talk about?

They reached the lab in record time as she punched in a code causing the doors to slide open. Loki's eyebrow quirked up slightly. Sleek by midgardian standards, Loki was somewhat impressed by the wide variety of gadgets and other forms of technology to be found. He turned towards the wall of suits. "You've worn all of these?" He asked, perplexed by the amount of suits that adorned the wall. Natasha smirked. "Of course. Each one better than the last." She took a seat at her table as the current suit was laying in pieces as she readjusted and fixed the parts that were damaged in the cave in. Loki took the seat on the other side of the table.

"Tell me about the nine realms."

Loki held a bemused expression. Natasha answered his unasked question. "It's difficult to find credible sources on them so why not ask the god of mischief himself. I could ask Thor but then that would require me to be around the rest of the team and like I said, we don't get along to well." She began mending the arm plates. "Yet we get along?"

She paused to glance up at him. "If I'm correct, I think we'd have a lot more to talk about then I would with them." She went back to her work. Loki observed her at work with fascination, but began. "If I tell you of the nine realms, you have to tell me a thing or two." He bartered. Natasha frowned, but continued her work. "Like…?"

"You mentioned an… arc reactor. You couldn't participate in sexual activity because others would find the arc reactor." He seemed a bit confused. Natasha slowed her work in thought until she finally came to a halt. She sat up and looked him in the eye. "You want to know about the reactor?" She wasn't sure why he'd want to know about such a thing, considering he didn't even know what it was, much less _where_ it was. He tilted his head somewhat down. As he picked up the scratched up helmet.

"That, and I'd also like to know how you became the Man of Iron."

"It's not that interesting of a story." She held a steady gaze with him. "Which makes me all the more curious to know." He grinned that infamous grin he gave her back in the tower the day of the invasion. "When you were under the tesseract's control, did you remember any of it?" She questioned without blinking. His grin disappeared. "I remember a majority of it." He muttered loud enough for him to hear. "When you were under the control of the Tesseract, your eyes were this bright blue. After the fight ended and we found you in the tower, you know, when you asked for the drink, your eyes were green again."

Loki frowned, absorbing her statement and analyzing it thoroughly. "Is that why you've been so accepting?" She blinked and went back to her work before answering. "Hmm. I wonder…" She meant it to be more for herself as opposed to it being a response for him. Loki pressed his lips together before speaking. He glanced around and found a stray sheet of paper. Natasha paused. "No, I have a better idea." She said getting up. "Jarvis, pull up a blank diagram." She spoke as Loki followed close behind her. "Yes, Miss Stark." The open area filled itself with a blue holographic 3D grid. "My AI is Jarvis. You'll get used to him."

"Describe the nine realms locations." She asked without looking up at him.

Loki's interested had peaked immensely at blue diagram that appeared all around them. Technology truly was their form of magic_. "At least it is for her…"_ he thought to himself as he glanced down at the genius. "It's described to look like many things, a tree that has branches. In terms of describing I'd prefer to use the example of a 3D oval." Natasha listened as she moved her hands to create the simple 3D oval. "Through the middle of the oval there is a line. Along this line lies 5 realms." Natasha placed five circles down the line. The middle one she instinctively labeled as Midgard.

"At the top is Asgard. Between Asgard and Misgard lies Alf-heim. Below Midgard is Svartalfheim and then Hel." Natasha labeled them each and put her arms down. She glanced to her left and pulled two chairs over for both her and Loki to sit. "Stop there for now. Explain." Loki looked up and pondered on where to start. "Asgard, the land that both Thor and I were raised in. There is a portal known as the Bifrost that anchors Midgard to Asgard but due to… recent events, it's made traveling dimensional planes rather difficult."

Natasha gave him a look but continued. "Below is Alf-heim, land of the Light Elves. They deal with the idea of nature and fertility. They're also fond of art and music. Below Midgard is Svartalfheim, land of Dark Elves. They tend to be the cause of haunts and night terrors. They react to sunlight, some will even turn to stone under extreme sunlight."

Natasha interrupted. "I read up on Hel. The unworthy deaths, yes?"

"Yes." Loki replied immediately. "Valhalla being located in Asgard for the worthy heroes who die." Natasha stood up and prepared to continue the diagram. "Going horizontally around the oval are four realms; one each in each quarter. On the left you have Nidavellir and Vanaheim . To the right you have Muspelheim and Jotunheim." Loki paused as she finished creating the diagram.

"Nidavellir is the land of the Dwarfs. They like crafting and working with metals, just as you do. They prefer to live underground. Vanaheim is home to a sister race of Asgardians. Muspelheim is land to demons and Jotunheim is home to the giants…" Loki paused as she looked up, somewhat knowingly. "Thor mentioned in somewhat, we have a vague understanding of what happened." Natasha explained quietly.

Natasha looked through her programs and designed star bits to scatter throughout the diagram to complete the tought idea of what the nine realms looked like. "What's wrong?" Loki questioned, noting the serious look Natasha held as she stared at the 3D scale. Her face had somewhat paled. She shook her head, breaking from her trance. "Nothing." She walked through the diagram, "I'm getting some food, I'll be back. And please don't touch anything that breaks." She exited from lab and walked upstairs. She managed to make it to a hallway where she leaned against the walls and took one deep breath after another.

"You'll never have to see it again…" She muttered, trying to reassure herself with a few more deep breaths. After a moment or two, she pushed off the wall and made her way to the kitchen.

* * *

"Jarvis?" Loki tested, unsure of how the mechanic worked. "Yes, Loki?" The AI responded with the same questioning tone. Loki smirked. "What are these files next to the diagram?" Loki references a large file marked in red light as important. "Those would be Miss Stark's files on everything that occurred during the invasion last year." Loki stared at the file for quite some time before pressing his palm against the hologram, just as he saw Natasha do. The file opened, allowing page after page, file after file, video after video to come out. The files that landed on the top were the Avenger files that she had received upon Phil Coulson's entrance to warn her of the Initiative. "Hmmm…" He spread the files out; five files each with a different label. He opened Natasha's first. Her file read basic information first. Her birth date, social security number, parents, characteristics, etc. Below was a brief description of her initial interaction with SHIELD.

"Kidnapped and tortured in Afghanistan…" Loki frowned, not knowing of the name. "Suspected as dead until found 3 months later in the desert by Colonel James Rhodes…." He muttered to himself. At the very bottom was a confirmation that read:

_Avengers Initiative: Denied._

"If you keep reading you'll find that they think I'm narcissistic, selfish and not a team player."

Loki glanced towards her as she walked in with bag of what he presumed was food. She raised an eyebrow. "I haven't seen some of these files in a while…" She mentioned thoughtfully as she dumped the bag onto an empty table nearby the diagram. Loki opened all the files, noting that everyone elses was more extensively detailed than hers. The Iron Man was almost blank with the exception of a brief acknowledgment that he was the personal body guard of Natasha Stark.

"I have my questions, you have yours. I don't want to trust you but I believe in fair trades and I kind of have this attraction to risky and dangerous decisions. So sit." She pointed to an empty chair next to her. He looked her questioningly before moving forward to the table, sitting down. "I asked my questions about the nine realms, your turn. One question each." She pressed her lips together as she waited for him to speak. Her head fell on her left hand as she waited. He wanted to know a lot of things but it'd be difficult to choose one thing to start with. The arc reactor, how she became Iron Man, how did the Avengers stop him during the invasion. She pulled out of the bag a bottle of wine, and two glasses as she poured two cups.

After a minute, he knew what he wanted to ask first.

**AN: I feel like I'm developing a playlist for this fic because for certain chapters I have specific songs in mind that I'm going to listen to on loop while I write. Oh goodness. As always, I hope you enjoyed, leave reviews, about what you thought (they motivate me). Now I get to decide if I work on the Bruce fic or keep writing this one. I'll decide eventually. **

**I hope you have a wonderful day**

**-H**


	4. Chapter 4: Explanations

**AN: Here's a chapter thing. I've gotten a few PMs wondering what the songs I had in mind were. I won't say what I have planned. (Avalanche Patrol by Astronautalis. For this song I really only had in mind the first 1:35 seconds and then the ending seconds.) (When The Storm Ends by Snow Patrol) (The Cave by Mumford and Sons). I'll let you try and guess what I have in mind for this fanfic judging by those three songs. I'll give you guys more hints along the way.**

"How did you resist?" Loki gave her an intense stare as she frowned, not knowing what he meant. "Resist?" She questioned back, running through her mind what he could possibly be referencing. "Resist the power of the Tesseract. It usually worked and yet…"

"Well, performance issues, it's not uncommon. One out of five... She grinned widely, he didn't return the sentiment. She took a deep breath, pressing her lips together, deciding how she wanted to go about explaining. "You were able to use your magic on me in the cave in; I feel like it was because you had more of a direct contact with me as opposed to a scepter seemingly touching my chest." Loki caught her word choice. "Seemingly?"

She stared at him cautiously. She took a long sip of her drink before gently tugging her sweatshirt over her head and onto the ground next to them. Loki's eyes widened as the light source came into view. She spoke his thoughts. "It's a part of me." She tapped the arc reactor lightly. She wore a red collared shirt that made it easier to see with the buttons down. "If taken it, I'd have about under a minute to live."

"It explains the sound I heard when I tried to control you."

Loki remained silent after that as he stared between the reactor and Natasha. It remained quiet for 5 minutes before Natasha rolled her eyes and broke the silence. "You're not going to ask?" Loki looked up. "It's not my turn to question." He gave her a quizzical look. "You asked about the reactor. We're going by topic here since the nine realms things was worth far more than a question." He gave her look and she knew was the next question would be. She looked up at the blue screen and from her seat she maneuvered it over to her. She moved the files around until she found the file on her kidnapping. News articles began popping up.

"I ran a company when I turned 21 under the _misleading_ watch of Obadiah Stane." She pointed to the picture of Obi and herself from long ago. "You look a lot younger there." Loki commented. "I've aged with grace, as you can see." She remarked sarcastically. "My company used to manufacture weapons. Obi was working under the table and selling weapons on the side. He wanted more money and more control."

Natasha's face turned dark as she pulled up another article with an oh so familiar headline. "_Natasha Stark assaulted and kidnapped during weapon's showing. Presumed dead."_ She read aloud. "Obi called for a hit on me. He needed to get rid of me because then he'd be next in line for the company." Loki frowned once more, not liking where the story was going. "But you hadn't died…."

"I hadn't die." She repeated.

She pulled up a video that Pepper had found on Obi's computer that explained the hit. She had it preset to translate. The grainy image showed her captors standing around their captive in a chair. All heavily armed. One of the men pulled the bag, revealing a bloodied and damaged Natasha. Loki had seen many things in his lifetime, and her condition was by far not the worst he had witnessed. But knowing that she was human made him cringe somewhat. Her face was bloodied with cuts from every which way. a bandaged wrapped around her chest. Blood was matted into her hair; confusion flashed across her eyes and then settled into a look of anger as she stared into the camera. The man spoke in his foreign tongue as the subtitles appeared below. "You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Natasha Stark…"

"Someone had this done to you on purpose? It wasn't a casualty of war?" His eyes had narrowed as he turned to look her in the eye. "It was on purpose." She drank more wine from her cup before continuing. "I was across the world demonstrating a new weapon I had designed. The Jericho Missile. On the way from that demonstration myself and the soldiers who were with me were attacked. I ran outside, there was shooting all around. I was about to contact for help when a missile of my own weapons arsenal blew up next to me."

"You should be dead right now." He frowned.

"I should."

The way she said it irked Loki in more ways than one. "When it exploded, I was heavily injured. Shrapnel pieces were coursing through my bloodstream heading straight for my heart. I didn't have much longer until an electromagnet was built to keep it away." She pulled up a profile of Ho Yinsen. "He was also a captive. Saved my ass in there. The terrorists wanted me to make them the missile I had developed or else they'd kill us."

"They'd kill you either way." Loki scoffed at the mere possibility that the men would have any sympathy. "He _would_ have killed us either way." She gave a wide grin. "They gave us what I consider a box of scraps and we started our work. Yinsen and I developed a new arc reactor that wasn't hooked up to a car battery and then we developed…" She pulled an image of the first suit that she had drew out once she had come back. "We developed the first suit."

Loki raised an eyebrow at how crude it looked compared to what he fought against. "You've made improvements." He stated dryly. She smirked. "The suit helped for the escape." Natasha began to pull up articles on her return, leaving hers and Yinsen's file open.

"And he died in there…" Loki said aloud as he read the portion of the profile that read deceased. Natasha paused before replying. All humor lost in her voice.

"And he died in there."

* * *

"Doctor Banner, what are you doing?" Steve Roger's asked as he entered the commons area that Bruce sat at. He had a laptop open on the table with a cup of lukewarm tea that had been half filled. "Looking over some footage…" Bruce replied, his eyebrows furrowed together as he paused the video give Steve a proper recognition. "Of? If you don't mind me asking." He sat down across from Bruce. "The video from the invasion. You know, I hulked out so I couldn't remember much that happened. It was only later that I heard about most of it. Including catching Iron Man from falling."

"Why are you watching it if people already told you about what happened?"

Bruce paused, thinking carefully before answering. "To give me proof."

Steve Rogers stared at the scientist momentarily, understanding the feeling entirely. He went under for 70 years and had people tell him about all that had happened . Even then he felt the strong need to read about it himself, to see the pictures and watch the news footage as much as he could just to give him some form of evidence and proof that it had all happened. He glanced at the video that Bruce had pressed play on again as the screen showed Iron Man fly just beneath the missile. Steve's stomach dropped.

"She hired a good man." Steve commented as he remembered that day with clarity. "I'm not so fond of Stark but Iron Man was willing to put himself on the line for all those people. We don't see Iron Man often and he doesn't exactly trust us but we could use more people like him in the world." The video began to show Iron Man flying into the portal. Bruce had muted it long ago not really favoring the news reporter's comments. "It's odd, when you think about it."

Steve paused it as he turned to Bruce once more with a questioning gaze. "The man flew through a portal into space. He saw billions of stars and maybe even far off galaxies. We'll never know since he hasn't even mentioned it. But from what I was told, he basically died up there. The suit shut down and there was no oxygen up there."

Bruce played the video once more. He waited for the portal to start closing to continue. "It's odd that he'd still be fighting crime. Using the suit at all after something like that. He should be experiencing some form of trauma and yet he's fighting alongside us like nothing happened." Steve frowned, realizing that Banner made a good point. Bruce gave him a soft smile. "It make you wonder, right?" Steve didn't respond as he stood up. "I'm going to get some food down the street. Do you want to come or want anything?" Steve asked politely. Bruce shook his head. "I'm good right here, thanks."

Steve left, his mind lingering on what Banner had said. He'd do his own investigating later.

Bruce Banner, on the other hand, sat quietly in his seat as he attempting to put the pieces of evidence together to back his theory. He didn't mention any of it to the Captain on purpose. It was something that he needed to figure out first, if anything.

-Natasha Stark and Iron Man were never in the same place at once.

-She had a drastic change from party girl to modestly dressed and only slightly less reckless individual.

-She looked at him differently these days. He wasn't quite sure how to explain it.

-She didn't sleep. He only knew that due to the lab logs he'd find every so often when he'd walk in.

-He had witnessed her slight break down against the wall not too long ago.

He sipped from his cup. "And Jarvis, you wouldn't happen to tell me anything, would you?" He asked jokingly, knowing all too well the answer.

"I'd never reveal Miss Stark's secrets, Doctor Banner." The AI held what Bruce believed to be a playful tone.

* * *

Loki had his hands laced together as he leaned his elbows against the table. About an hour or so had passed during her explanation. He examined her state as he wove together all that he had heard and all that he could surmise. She looked worn, but still up for the fight. Her long brown hair was disheveled and curled at the lower ends as they fell against her shoulders and only slightly past her chest. Her eyes matched how she looked.

She looked exhausted.

"So you escape from this cave in the suit of armor. You choose to avenge yourself against your captors and then once the world sees this suit of armor and dubs you Iron Man, you don't say anything. Even after having your life plastered across the media you don't take the ego boosting opportunity. Why?" He tried to piece it together himself, unable to see a logical reason for her to keep it a secret. She had all the resources she'd ever need, and yet…

"I have people to protect. People I care about."

Loki looked her in the eye, trying to find some form of humor and coming up empty. She held a serious gaze as she didn't dare look away. "If people knew, I could only imagine what would happen. Rhodey would be given a hell of a time by the military not only because I stopped providing weapons but because I decided to start doing their job. Stopping the weapons was enough of a problem that Rhodey had to and still has to deal with. Pepper is my best friend and she stuck through a lot with me. She doesn't deserve to live in fear every two seconds. She has enough to worry about with me." She noted the face Loki held. It was mixed with confusion and slight frustration.

"I can't imagine why you'd do that for someone."

"Because they care about me. We'd do anything for each other."

He chose to look away at the diagram in deep thought. Natasha let out a small sigh. She knew somewhat of Loki's origins, but it didn't take a genius like her to see the little particulars. "You don't see it, do you…" She asked him, bringing him back from his distant gaze. Loki furrowed his brow once more before looking at her again. "What are you talking about?" Her eyes were slightly widened in surprised, her head somewhat tilted as she realized she was right; he really had no idea what she was referring to. She smirked, realizing that it wasn't something she could really say at that moment.

"It's nothing."

* * *

_Next Chapter: Training, Thor, more questions._

* * *

**AN: So I have a little contest for you. The first 3 people who can guess what I want to do with this fic before I post the next chapter. (Hopefully within the next few days so I'll just say give it 3 days from now. So 24 July, 2013) I will draw frostiron fanart for those three people/ fanart for the fic. The people who do guess right I'll PM about it.**

**And as always, I hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful day.**

**-H**


	5. Chapter 5: For Pepper Potts

**AN: I thought I'd clear up some confusion, Thor ****knows**** that Loki is August. He's in disguise to not cause panic for that reason. No one else knows that "August" is Loki except Stark, Thor, Fury, and Coulson.**

"It's a pleasure to see you!" Thor grinned as he sat down at a diner table across from Phil Coulson. "I could say the same." Coulson smiled lightly back as a waitress approached their table. "Two coffees." The blonde waitress nodded as she walked away. "I called you down to see how things were. You know, with living in the tower, your brother…" He trailed off, expecting some form of grimace from the Norse legend in front of him. He gave Coulson a smile instead.

"He seems to be faring well here in Midgard. He has found interest in Natasha Stark and has been in her company for most of his stay thus far." Thor mentioned nonchalantly as the waitress came back with a pot of fresh coffee. She poured their two cups and walked off, having to take another order. "That's an interesting duo." Coulson stated with somewhat shock as he took a sip. "According to Pepper Potts, they met at the party Natasha had to tend. Although I don't believe Pepper Pott knows that the man Natasha Stark was speaking with was my brother."

Coulson smiled. "It's best she doesn't. Stark does enough reckless things as it is." He paused for another sip. "But when I think about it, Stark would be my best choice if I had to choose someone Loki _took interest in._ I think she'll be a challenge for him." Thor took a sip of his own coffee before realizing he hadn't put much in it. He reached over for the crème and sugar. "I must admit, she has a wit that reminds me much of Jane's." He smiled at the sound of her name. "But what reckless things does she do in her spare time?"

"Too many to list." Coulson replied offhandedly. "But moving on. How is everyone?" Coulson raised his hand as the waitress began pouring him another cup. She left quickly once more. "The Captain has a sleep schedule that's very precise. He'll leave for rest around 10 each evening and wake around 5 to start his daily training. But sometimes I think I see him wandering the halls at night. At first, I thought his lack of sleep was due to too much sleep."

"But…" Coulson stirred in a few packets of sugar.

"I realized Natasha does the same thing sometimes."

Coulson stopped stirring as he heard his sentence. "She seems a bit, off these days. I can't explain why. We rarely see her anymore, she fights with the Captain still but it's more submissive if anything. Almost as if she has better things to do than fight so she just walks away, choosing to not end it on proper terms. When I speak with her, those rare times, she seems like the woman I met on the ship but whenever we're called into battle there's a look of hesitancy in her eyes, if only for a brief moment." Coulson poured the crème, taking in Thor's observations.

"Bruce Banner seems to have made himself quite comfortable in the tower. I often see him around meal times where we'll discuss different topics that I was not able to ask Jane about. He's a very intelligent man."

"Incredibly intelligent." Coulson was content with the first sip of his coffee as he continued to listen.

"Do you sense something… odd right now?" Thor asked suddenly as he placed his cup down. Coulson tilted his head slightly, signifying his confusion. "I don't know, I might be feeling some of my brother's magic." Thor frowned but shaking it off nonetheless. "So I'm right in presuming he kept his magic?" Coulson asked with a smirk.

Thor smiled. "Indefinitely. I'm 100% sure he got it passed The All-Father some how." He took a sip before continuing on with their prior conversation topic.

"As for the Man of Iron, I don't see him as often as I thought I would around the tower. On the field he makes an excellent ally." Thor continued. "But I must ask, if we're a team, why does he keep his identity a secret?"

Coulson frowned in thought, wondering how he ought to go about answering his question. "Iron Man has a problem with playing with others, so he doesn't exactly trust other people easily. He's like Stark in the sense where he prefers to be alone then to go through the process of making friends. Plus, when you think about it…" He took another sip. "The less people who know about a secret, the less trouble you have."

Thor grinned. "Coming from a man who works for an organization built on secrets."

Coulson returned the smile. "Of course."

* * *

"What exactly is that?" Pepper stood off to the side as she witnessed Natasha finishing up the first half of her training. Natasha turned, her hair messily up and a little winded as sweat beaded across her forehead. She wore a form fitting black material that outlined her body exactly. Thick blue lines extended from the arc reactor and glowed across her body. Pepper smirked. "You look like something straight out of Tron."

Natasha grinned. "Might as well make it look kind of cool." Pepper tossed her a water bottle. "Besides, it's my undersuit. It's upgraded. It's supposed to prevent injury like cuts and burns. That, and if I only have, let's say the gauntlet on, the undersuit can still power it." She smiled proudly. Pepper sighed. "At least you're being more careful about this. The level we never want to reach again is Palladium Stark. I don't think I could go through that again."

"You won't have to go through that again. I know how hard it is to handle Party Girl Stark." Natasha gave a side grin before she stood on the platform as Jarvis began to place the armor on her. Pepper sighed as she picked up the discarded Iron Man helmet that Natasha had probably set aside earlier. She walked off the platform in full armor as she approached Pepper. "I meant, I don't think I could handle the idea of you dying again. For the fourth time." Pepper replied with a serious look in her eye. She held the helmet up to give to her. Natasha's face lost all hints of humor as she took the helmet gently. Her back was to the door as she held Pepper's piercing gaze.

"I can't promise you that. You know that."

Pepper pressed her lips together before letting go the helmet entirely into Natasha's grasp. "Then promise you'll at least try." She said softly. Natasha's chest felt heavy seeing Pepper in such a state. It was that look on her face and many more why she didn't want anyone to know about her hero work. Maybe one day she'd be able to tell her _team_ about it. Or maybe she'd let them figure it out on their own. She wouldn't know until the moment actually arose.

She slid the helmet on and lifted the face plate up so Pepper could still see her.

"I promise."

Pepper held her gaze. "Sometimes I wish you would tell them. If not at least one person. I'd feel better knowing at least one of them knew you were the one under the mask. Steve seems like an ass some of the time so maybe he's not too much of an option but maybe you could tell Bruce or Thor or Agents Romanoff or Barton." Natasha frowned, not really wanting to have the conversation.

"Why should any of them know? How does that make you feel any safer?" Natasha asked, her tone a mix of confusion and annoyance. They had had similar conversations before but they hadn't really gone anywhere. It usually consisted of her and Pepper fighting about what to do, but there was never a why. The arguments would end with yelling and then not speaking to each other on informal terms for about a week until the argument was pushed aside.

Pepper sighed again.

"Because at least then I'd know one of them has your back. They have _Iron Man's_ back because _he_ flew into a giant portal to save everyone at the risk of _his _life. I know they'll back _him_ up in a heartbeat. But what about you, Nat. Who has your back? Coulson, Rhodey, myself, and even Fury, sure, but we're not the ones out on the battlefield. _They_ are. And sometimes I wish you'd think about that." Pepper held her gaze for one moment longer before an interruption broke their focus.

Out of instinct, Natasha quickly slid her faceplate down before even knowing who had entered the room.

"Pepper Potts! Iron Man! What a pleasant surprise!" Thor grinned as he walked into the training hall. Thor made a mental note to begin calling him 'Iron Man' as opposed to Man of Iron. Iron Man and Pepper both turned to look a Thor. "Thor, it's nice to see you again." Pepper grinned her signature smile that revealed nothing. "What can I do for you?" Natasha asked, the voice modulator in the helmet changed her voice as it normally did to that of a male. "I'll leave you two to your business." Pepper said before making her way to the exit. She quickly glanced back at Natasha with a knowing look in her eye before leaving in silence.

"I was hoping for a work out but if you're here, would care for a round of sparring?"

Natasha stood silent for moment as she thought quickly. She did need the training and it was always nice to see how much the suit could handle. She knew it could handle the strength of the Captain but retesting it with Thor might be a good idea. "That's awesome. Let's go." She grinned beneath the suit, hoping for good results.

She walked towards another door as Thor followed behind. Even in the suit he still towered over her. The room was a completely empty room built with reinforced walls for such training battles. "May I remind the two of you," Jarvis said as he echoed throughout the room "that it would be wise if you didn't hurt yourselves too much in the case something in the real world were to happen." The two stood in the middle of the room. Natasha stuck out her hand as Thor took it. They shook hands before walking towards the opposite ends of the room. _"At least he doesn't have the hammer. I don't think the room could handle that…"_ Natasha thought to herself as she readied herself into fighting stance.

Jarvis rang the bell and the two launched at each other.

* * *

"Miss Potts, I'm surprised to get a call from you." Coulson said as he stood outside the diner that he had coffee with Thor not long ago. Pepper stood with a tired smile. "Off the record, it's Pepper." Coulson offered his arm as she linked her arm though his. "Then off the record, it's Phil." He gave her a comforting smile before they began to walk.

Pepper Potts didn't like SHIELD. She wasn't a fan of Nick Fury or the way he ran things. She didn't like how they had questionable morals when it came to certain topics, she didn't like that they had sent a spy into their company and she didn't like the idea that she and Natasha still had to work with them. The only aspect of SHIELD that Pepper approved of was Phil Coulson.

She'd talk to Phil Coulson every day if she could.

"Is there something troubling you?" Phil asked, noting the silence they had been walking in. "Actually there is, Phil. It's about Natasha." Pepper sighed. Phil let out a light chuckle. "When isn't it about Natasha?" He offered hoping to crack a smile on the stressed woman walking alongside him. He succeeded. "She's calmed down since the cave and of course, the whole Palladium thing, it's just…" She paused, unsure how to word it.

"It's just…?" Phil repeated, wondering where this could be heading. Pepper stopped walking, not looking him in the eye but instead choosing to look at the streets ahead. "I'm worried about her. She hasn't been sleeping. I feel like she's freaking out inside about everything that happened when she almost died in that portal, when her suit failed her I think it sent her into a place where she couldn't trust anything anymore without absolute reassurance." Pepper was sure to keep her voice to a low whisper that only Phil could hear. She looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"She won't talk to me about what happened. She denies that anything is wrong but I know something is wrong." Phil swallowed as he looked with sympathy. "I can't say I don't worry too. I didn't know it was that bad though. Especially if she's still off in the field. That could prove to be bad if she breaks down in the middle of battle." Phil muttered off handedly. "Especially in the middle of battle." Pepper repeated, knowing all too well that she was getting through to him.

"What do you want me to do?" Phil asked, determined he'd help as much as he could.

"Talk to her. Convince her that it's okay that she's afraid. That it's okay to tell someone about all that she's carrying on her back. She thinks it's her responsibility alone to set things right but now she has a team to help her. And I just wish she'd see that." Phil nodded, knowing that she was right.

"I'll do everything I can." He said in an utmost serious tone. He felt Pepper grasp a bit more tightly to his arm.

"Thank you."

The sparring had gone on for 45 minutes, both of them proving to hold up well against each other. The suit had taken a beating but had held up against Thor's strength, much to her liking. "You're an excellent warrior, Iron Man." Thor grinned as he jumped Natasha to the ground. He had her pinned to ground; his arms wrapped around her wrists and his legs trapping any escape she could surmise. "But I do believe I am better." Thor grunted as pressed further down into the ground, assuring that he had won. Natasha's stats in the helmet were spiking to red levels as she grinned wide. "Not today, Point Break."

Thor's eyes widened as something dawned on him. "…Point Break?"

Before he could question it any farther, a repulsor beam shot out of her chest plate as Thor was thrown across the room. Natasha stood quickly, shaking off any hesitancy as she flew to the other side and pinned Thor to the ground with one arm. She raised her other arm; her palm repulsor aimed and ready. _"That was easier than I thought."_ She thought to herself as she hoped for the surrender from her opponent. Thor blinked a few times before speaking.

"…Natasha Stark, are you in the Iron Man suit?"

Her grip on his forearm immediately loosened; her repulsor charged down as his words sunk in. Her eyes were wide as she stared down at the legend beneath her. In that split moment, everything Pepper had said to her came rushing through her head. She stared for a second or two more, still unsure of how to answer.

"Miss Stark," Jarvis spoke through the helmet softly, "If I may interject, but now may be a good time to consider what Miss Potts has said…" She swallowed hard as she blinked for the first time after hearing Thor's statement. She hadn't told anyone for so long that she forgot that even while being worried about Pepper, Pepper also worried about her. And when she really thought about it, Jarvis worried about her as well.

If Natasha Stark could protect one thing in her life, it'd be Pepper Potts. Both physically and emotionally.

She slowly lowered her arm as she pulled away the other arm that had once pinned Thor. She sat on her knees as Thor slowly sat up more. Natasha slowly detached the helmet, her hair was disheveled as she pulled the ponytail out as best as she could with her armor on. She sighed once more.

"Yeah… it's me."

* * *

_Next chapter: Winter, Banner and the Night_

* * *

**AN: Okay, so I thought I'd clear another thing up. Fem!Tony is named Natasha Stark in this story because in the comics, there is an actual alternate universe that Reed Richards discovers where Tony Stark was born a female and her name is Natasha Stark. That's why she's Natasha Stark in this universe.**

**With that cleared up, I hope you enjoyed, no one figured out what I was going to do so I hope it'll be slightly shocking when it comes around time for it, if not interesting at the very least. I have it written down on a chapter map that something big should happen by chapter 7/8, depending on how I write and the size of the chapters.**


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